Tasteful Modding Advice
 

Hey Miata Crew. I'm looking for some pointers on quality and reliable mods for eventually adding boost to my baby, my 1992 bone stock NA6 Miata. I've been browsing through countless sites that offer reliability and power and all that, but one site stands out. Flyin' Miata has true quality parts and I'm looking specifically at a package I priced out myself leading up to about $10,400 worth of modifications. This package I put together inludes the following:

FM II Turbo system fully loaded practically bolt on:
$5,799.00
Carrillo H-Beam Rods:
$1,230.00
ARP Head Studs:
$136.00
Valve Spring Kit w/ Valve Keepers from NB Engine:
$384.50
Wiseco Forged Turbo Pistons w/ Piston Ring Installer:
$828.99
Clutch Kit Happy Meal (Everything for Stage 2 setup including new lightweight flywheel):
$699.00
Competition Motor Mounts:
$98.00
Full Exhaust System 3" from Turbo to Tail:
$1,158.00
Suzuki Cappuccino Washer Bottle (Doesn't seem necessary but extra space and a clean engine bay makes a big difference):
$69.99
With all of this the total comes to something close to $10,403. I've not accounted for upgraded cooling yet which I'm considering putting on now. On their site they have listed a crossflow radiator and stage 2 airflow kit. This, paired with the coolant reroute kit total about $1,000 as well. I'm not worried about putting money I to her but I want to make sure I'm taking the right approach to this for a long lasting and clean Miata build. Is this too much for a daily driving Miata?

TL;DR
I'm considering making some serious modifications to my Miata and I want some opinions from Miata owners on whether or not these changes will potentially ruin the daily driving experience.

My son just finished up doing a Flyin' Miata turbo application on his 1996 Miata M-Edition; because his car came with factory A/C the installation was significantly more complicated, and the fact he wanted to keep the A/C operational complicated it even further.

The good news was he just get the car back from the tuner's and is thrilled with the results. His first comment to me after picking it up was, "Dad, the roads are slightly wet, and just touching the throttle in 4th gear broke the rear end loose; I can't wait for dry roads."

He says his official "butt dyno" tells him the car does 0-60 in the low five second range, and will probably break five seconds when he puts his sticky racing rubber on.

As for other mods; he added a stiffer front swaybar and the Flyin' Miata frame stiffener under the body of the car, oh, and of course a rollbar which just fits under the top.

Regarding using a modded Miata as a daily, I think the car modded as you've outlined above, would probably be an annoying handful as a daily driver.

That sounds awesome! I appreciate the feedback. Based off of what you've said I'll probably end up driving my Golf in the dark times non car enthusiasts call "winter". Has he installed all the modifications regarding the FMII himself?

I'm like 95% sure he did the Voodoo II Turbo Kit (with the smaller of the two turbo options); he did the installation himself, but like I wrote, the A/C complicated the installation to the point where he had to fab up a bunch of parts. Fortunately he is a GE F414 engine mechanic and an EA-18G Growler Plane Captain in the Navy, so he has access to lots of special tools and such.

The only switch away from the standard kit was the ECU, he just couldn't get the system to play nice in his car so he upgraded to a MegaSquirt unit and then had the car professionally tuned. He's still working a few kinks out of the fuel control when the car is at idle, but beyond that he loves the upgrade.

Ok that's good to know. The original owner of mine removed the AC and lines prior to me stumbling upon her. Do you know if the Voodoo II kit required any additional parts aside from the mentioned complications? The way it's listed on the FM site makes it seem like you need a few more options than what the kit offers by itself.

If I recall correctly, he bought the wide-band upgrade and the gauge cluster, but beyond that, just the MegaSquirt. Here's a shot of when the engine was going in:
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4692/...29ed7a75_o.jpg

Oh lordy it looks beautiful I can't wait. That's great though so with what I have it should truly be a bullet-proof engine with boost. What did he use to get a base tune to drive it to a shop do you know? I've read around that tuning isn't all that difficult but I'm rather frightened by the idea of damaging my engine after dumping a house down payment on it.

He was so dissatisfied with how the car ran when he first fired it up, and even with a fair amount of tinkering, he still didn't feel good about putting it on the road. The good news is he also has an awesome 1990 Ford F150 XLT Lariat with the venerable 4.9 liter I6 cylinder engine and a 5-Speed manual transmission; he simply rented a dolly, popped the front wheels up on the dolly and towed it over to the shop for tuning.

Both the Miata and the F150 aren't ever leaving the family. :)
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4690/...2f269085_o.jpg

Damn I need a truck haha. Alright cool. That about sums up the questions I have. If I think of any more I'll throw them at the thread. Likewise if you think of anything else needed or helpful. Thanks the advice and answers :P

Will do.

The truck's kind of a funny story; he'd been looking for an F150 with the I6 and the manual gearbox for months, and in early 2016 he saw an ad on Craig's List for this one, it was being sold by the original owner and had spent its life on a farm outside of Sacramento. He sent the guy a hefty deposit, sight unseen, had a friend drive him up there, and picked it up; the truck only had 88,000 miles on the clock and he got it for something like $2,500. :)